


A Song for You

by mightierthanthecanon



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Catburglar AU, M/M, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 17:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2200785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightierthanthecanon/pseuds/mightierthanthecanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"$2.5 million, minus 10% for your fence, divided equally made…what, a million? A little more?" Niall asks, laughing as Zayn tries in vain to beat him for the third time (He’s really shit at FIFA, Niall thinks, smiling fondly, absolutely awful). "More than a million dollars and you couldn’t afford some new moves?"</p><p>AKA, I put seven different AUs into one because I love ziall and I am an idiot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Song for You

**Author's Note:**

> The aus (from a tumblr post) were:  
> 1\. both wearing the exact same outfit on the metro au  
> 2\. two separate robbers breaking into the same house au  
> 3\. one is too short to reach a can of soup at the supermarket au  
> 4\. their dogs start uncontrollably barking at each other in the quiet vets office au  
> 5\. one accidentally punched the other in the face while gesturing wildly au  
> 6\. one breaking into the others house accidentally when drunk au  
> 7\. they had the same friends for multiple years but somehow never met until some birthday party au

When Zayn jolts awake, it's not to the voice of the conductor calling " _last stop_ ," but to the sound of barely controlled giggling coming from his left. It's two o'clock in the fucking morning on an empty train and someone just had to choose the seat right next to him.

Zayn rolls his eyes as best he can with them still closed and opens one eye to peer at his neighbor. It's a gleeful, blue-eyed, entirely too-awake blond guy--a bottle blond, Zayn assumes, noting how the pale gold strands at the top contrast with the darker, warmer color near the roots. It would be intriguing, even outright attractive... if he weren't so damned tired.

The guy literally cannot stop laughing, and manages to get out a hoarse "Nice outfit," before dissolving into laughter once more.

Irritated at being laughed at for God knows how long, Zayn pushes himself up, squinting at the blond to figure out what the joke is and realizes that they're wearing the exact same outfit. From the blue **OBEY** t-shirt, to the tight black jeans, to the brand new Nikes that had come out less than a week ago, he's wearing the same exact thing that Zayn is. It's weird, but less than it would be if Zayn were awake. As it stands now, it's more like a weirdly detailed fever dream with a really hot guy in it, so Zayn just nods sleepily and holds his hand up for a high five.

The brilliant smile on the blond's face is the last thing he sees before falling back asleep.

\---

 _You have got to be fucking kidding me_ is Niall's first coherent thought when he arrives at the Winston estate to find the door already unlocked and open. Even though he knows he should cut his losses and get the fuck out of there, the knowledge of what's waiting for him in the safe is more than reason enough for Niall to keep going...until he hears movement in the front yard.

Then, he's running into the house, slamming the door behind him and rushing upstairs to get the jewels and get the hell out before whoever's coming realizes they've been robbed. The safe is exactly where Niall expected it to be. It's the person sitting in front of it that's a surprise.

Even from behind, Niall can tell that it's Tattoo Guy from the subway, dressed in all black and hotter than Niall remembers him being, if that's even possible. Before Niall can figure out whether to be jealous or aroused, the guy's pointing a gun at him with one hand while still working on the safe with the other (by touch, Niall realizes, which, although impressive, means that he could be here all night).

"Turn around," Tattoo Guy says evenly, "Leave. Do not come back."

Niall ignores him. He moves forward, nervous laughter bubbles up in his throat as he realizes it's a safe inside a safe and Tattoo Guy is actually more impressive than he had already thought. Niall shakes it off and grabs the electronic autodialer out of his pocket, stepping past him to fit it swiftly onto the locking mechanism.

Tattoo Guy is staring at him, and Niall can see the shock, then the recognition on his face, followed swiftly by something that looks suspiciously like irritation...at Niall cramping his style.

"Funny meeting you here!" Niall starts brightly before Tattoo Guy can say anything, "But someone's coming. We gotta go."

There's a split second of silence--nothing but the mechanical whirr of the autodialer. Looking at the gun, it suddenly occurs to Niall that Tattoo Guy might ignore him, or even shoot him. In the quiet, the safe suddenly clicks and squeaks open, and there's a beep from downstairs as the alarm system registers someone entering the house. Tattoo Guy springs into action, emptying the safe into his knapsack and closing it shut before turning to Niall.

"Okay, Blondie," he says, his eyes sparkling and his smile bright with anticipation, "Now, you can get us out of here."

\-----

"You know we just robbed one of the richest people in the city, yeah?" Zayn asks, and Niall nods, picking out some Gatorade from the back of the shelf.

To be honest, he's more worried about how excited he is about Zayn saying we and shopping with Niall in a crowded grocery store ( _like they're on some super-domestic first date_ ) than he is worried about the cops finding out about them. It turns out that Ben Winston had just forgotten his invitation and never even went upstairs, so, no worries there. Niall knows, however, that now is possibly the very worst time for a sexuality crisis, so he sets the feeling aside.

"Are you cool with green?" he asks, grabbing two big bottles, "Some people don't like it, is all."

Zayn ignores him completely, saying "We gotta get out of here," and putting an arm around Niall's waist to steer him quickly through the grocery store. "I can't believe you wanted to stop for food," he mutters under his breath, "Food! After a heist! What kind of thief--".

Niall interrupts him. "A hungry one. SpaghettiOs, please?" he asks, pointing at the top shelf and batting his eyelashes obnoxiously.

Zayn giggles before remembering he's supposed to be angry, and scowling. "You're not even that short," Zayn says, looking down at Niall, "You just want me to do it for you."

Niall nods. It's true, after all. Also, Niall is very very lazy.

"Yep," he grins, "Unless you want me to ask that nice cop over there. I'm sure he'd be happy to help me."

Zayn scowls even harder, but Niall can see the twinkle in his eye as he reaches up for the can of soup. "You're a five year old," he says, shaking his head, and Niall pokes him.

"A hungry one," he corrects again, and this time, Zayn can't hold back his smile.

\-----

Being the more experienced thief (and the only one who actually lives in England), it's Zayn who has a fence ready to buy the jewelry from them a week later, an guy named Liam who's working as a veterinary assistant on the side. He requires that they bring in animals for the vet to see before any transaction can take place ( _Not a bad cover_ , Zayn texts Niall, _just annoying_ ), so Zayn's here with his dog. He's got a knapsack full of jewelry in the carrier and Boris on the floor at his feet, yawning and resettling himself on top of Zayn's shoes.

 _Cool ! I'll be there in a minute !_ Niall texts back and Zayn starts typing immediately.

 _Do not come here. Stay home. Let me handle it._ He knows it's useless even as he presses send. It's only been a week, but Zayn knows him well enough to know that Niall will do what Niall wants to do.

Zayn isn't even a little surprised 60 seconds later, when Boris starts barking at the entrance, or, more specifically, at the tiny dog bounding through the door. Niall had said he didn't have a dog, but of course he's managed to get Hatchi off of his sneakers (he only liked Niall's shoes for some reason, never Zayn's) and out of Zayn's apartment. He is, however, surprised by the fact that Niall walks right past him and over to the other side of the room before sitting down in the corner.

 _You found common sense !_ Zayn texts, _And my dog ! It's a miracle !!_

Hatchi's barking now, though, so loudly that it drowns out Niall's phone (It's Miley Cyrus, Zayn knows--after a week, he can hear it in his head even if Niall can't). Niall tries and tries and to get the dog to quiet down, but to no avail. Zayn just watches him, laughing quietly until he catches Niall's eye.

"Nice dog," he shouts, over the noise.

Niall laughs and yells back, "Found him in my closet--damned dog was trying to eat my Nikes."

\-----

"$2.5 million, minus 10% for your fence, divided equally made...what, a million? A little more?" Niall asks, laughing as Zayn tries in vain to beat him for the third time ( _He's really shit at FIFA_ , Niall thinks, smiling fondly, _absolutely awful_ ).

"More than a million dollars and you couldn't afford some new moves?" he asks again, fingers flying over the controller and all of a sudden the game is over. Niall pumps his fist as 3-0 flashes across the screen while Zayn groans and throws his controller at Niall's crotch. He's out of the couch before it can hit him, though, jumping to his feet and sticking his tongue out at Zayn.

"You didn't really come all this way to get your ass kicked in FIFA, did you?" he laughs, dodging a pillow (Zayn didn't, he came to drink Guinness--Niall should know, he talked Zayn into it).

Zayn shakes his head, a mischievous smirk on his face, "Not FIFA," he says, nodding at his bag, "Mortal Kombat."

Niall laughs. Of course. "What, you wanna fight me?" he asks, walking over to Zayn with his fists in the air. "You wanna--" he swings playfully...at the very same time as Zayn stands up.

There's a horrible moment when Niall realizes that he's accidentally punched Zayn in the face. His eyes widen and his mouth drops open, but nothing comes out. Zayn doesn't look like he's in pain, just startled...but still.

"Holy shit. You okay?" Niall asks, ducking to check Zayn's skin for bruises. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry..." he says over and over, looking into Zayn's eyes and brushing his cheekbones gently with his knuckles. It's shockingly intimate, being this close to Zayn when he's tried so hard to hold himself back, and Niall can't stop touching Zayn now, doesn't want to stop touching him...

"No," Zayn says suddenly, and Niall falters, stumbling back. It's like someone's drenched him in ice water.

Suddenly, Zayn grabs him tightly around the waist, pulling him close again. Niall blinks in surprise and looks up nervously to see Zayn looking down at him with so much unfiltered want in his eyes that Niall's breath catches in his throat.

"No," Zayn clarifies quietly, "I don't want to fight you," and kisses him.

\-----

It's been almost a year since Zayn lent Niall his copy of Skyrim, and Niall still hasn't learned a damned thing about stealth.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Zayn yells, steering Niall towards his front door. He's furious at him for approximately the second time in his life ( _and fuck you very much for bringing that number up to two_ , he thinks).

"How exactly do you break into someone's house by accident?" Zayn asks, and when Niall looks up at him, he knows the answer.

He could have guessed it. Should have guessed it, even, from the teary voicemails Niall's been leaving him to the vaguely melancholy lyrics he's been posting on his twitter. Zayn reminds himself that Niall is straight straight straight _straight straightstraightstraight_.

Niall hangs his head like a scolded child when he mumbles, "Don't know how I ended up here."

 _Sounds sincere_ , Zayn thinks. He spares a moment to wish they could go back to the time before he had to doubt everything Niall said to him. Then, he remembers where he is, and what happened.

He nods. "Sure, Niall," Zayn says flatly.

Niall continues, quiet, "Think I drank too much Jack."

Zayn bites his tongue. He knows exactly when Niall started to drink Jack Daniels. It was the same day Zayn stopped drinking Guinness.

Suddenly, he realizes they've stopped moving towards the door. Niall's just standing in his arms now, shifting closer and closer to him. It's been months since they've been this close and Zayn wants nothing more than to give him exactly what he knows Niall wants.

"Can I stay?" Niall asks, and Zayn realizes that Niall knows exactly what he wants too. Niall's playing him. Six months ago, that would have worked, but Zayn's a different person now.

It's a bitter, bitter laugh that forces its way out of Zayn's chest. "Why are you here?" he asks, then asks the question he really wants to know the answer to--the question he asked Niall six months ago.

"What do you want, Niall?"

Zayn doesn't want to hope for anything, tries not to even hear the response but it still hurts when Niall just shakes his head and says "Zayn..."

Niall says it like he's helpless, like he's powerless, like he's physically incapable of just answering the fucking question when Zayn knows the answer just as well as he does.

Zayn traces Niall's face with his finger, memorizing the way he leans into it, because he knows he'll probably never see Niall again. By the time his thumb swipes over Niall's lips, Zayn isn't even angry anymore, just tired. Dropping his hand, Zayn sighs and guides Niall through the door, squeezing his shoulder gently because he can't help himself.

"Come back when you know what you want, Niall," he says simply, and closes the door.

\-----

It's 45 minutes into Harry's birthday party when Zayn's ready to leave, and tells Louis so. The only reason he was staying past the birthday cake was the fact that Harry was so excited for Zayn to hear his friend's solo.

"You're a good friend," Harry had said. _A sucker for live music is more like it_ , Zayn had thought, and he was right. It looked like Harry was postponing the song as long as possible so he would stay, so now Zayn's polishing off a beer with Louis--not Guinness, not anymore--as he waits.

"Here we are," Louis says brightly, "Sick voice, you'll love him."

Zayn sees a flash of golden hair near the stage and feels his heart stop. A voice he knows all too well comes in over the loudspeakers, and he turns around, not wanting to see, not wanting to fall for him again.

"This is 'A Song for You,' Niall says, voice shaky like Zayn's never heard it before (even four months ago, when Niall was drunk and needy at his window) and Zayn knows he never stood a chance. "I know this is Harry's party--sorry Harry--but..." Zayn takes a deep breath and turns around to see Niall smiling nervously at him, hair fluffy from running his hands through it. "This is...it's for you, Zayn," he says, cheeks flushing, and starts to sing.

All the things Zayn wanted Niall to say and all the things he wanted to hear are there, in his voice, in the song, in his smile. Zayn can't take his eyes off of Niall, who's looking right at Zayn and singing like his life depends on it as Zayn makes his way through the crowd. It's only a few moments, but it seems like a lifetime, and when Niall finishes, to loud applause, Zayn's right there at the side of the stage.

Niall runs right into his arms, kissing him like there isn't a crowd of at least 500 people watching them.

"You are the least subtle person in the entire world, you know that?" Zayn says, breathless. Niall just kisses him, holding him tightly and smiling against his lips. When Zayn opens his eyes again, Louis and Harry are on their way over.

"Get us out of here?" Zayn asks, a smile on his face, and Niall grins.

"I love you too," Niall answers, finally, and pulls Zayn through a back door and out into the night.


End file.
